Last July, I spotted a hummingbird sipping nectar from flowers on the terrace garden, so I bought a feeder on my next trip to town. In time, I could identify five different hummingbirds that regularly visited the feeder. Hummingbirds aren’t as thick as ticks here, but they’re common enough. My [...]

My new favorite tool is a European style scythe from Scythe Supply in Maine. I’ve been interested in various archaic crafts for much of my life, and in the simple tools of farm and home life.
I remember my father using a scythe for trimming tall grass when I was a child, but his was [...]

We seldom see any of the whitetail deer that live here. When we do, it’s usually at a distance. With three dogs at my heels, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to slip up close enough for a stunning photo. What I usually see is the white flag of their tails as they leap into the [...]

Before the heat wave, the wild plum crop appeared promising. In the last week, most of the fruit have dropped off. Sigh. I was so looking forward to adding wild plum jelly to the pantry shelves. 

It’s 103 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade here. I do not even want to know the heat index. The ducks have retreated to the shade under the trailer, which already was in the shade of a pecan grove. Notice the panting…notice that you can see right through the nostrils of one duck. I never noticed [...]

I must be more careful what I toss onto the compost pile. The poultry dig through for snacks there . . . and apparently neckwear. I found this goose sporting an old peat pot one afternoon last week. She (he?) didn’t seem to mind. She grazed a while, napped, had [...]

I’ve never grown such lush, happy eggplants before. The huge leaves concerned me at first because I feared I’d been too heavy-handed with the compost this spring and would have all leaves and no fruit. Not to worry. They’re setting fruit now, and still the plants grow and grow and grow. [...]

If I were 20 feet taller, I could harvest this thick crop of wild cherries. I picked a modest amount from the branches I could reach, but they grow much thicker in the sunny treetops. I’ve also been picking wild blackberries and the fully ripened deep purple gooseberries. The ripe gooseberries are [...]

‘Eglantine’, a David Austin variety of English-style roses. My daughter took this photo in my new flower & herb garden next to the house. This garden is rather sparse now, just half-planted, and with only a couple mature plants. Thus, these blossoms stand out particularly well. The fragrance is heavenly, [...]